If you're garden is impossible to dog-proof, could you keep the dog on a long line? If you do this it may be more sensible to put him in a harness so he doesn't hurt his neck. And training. I have found some aspects of training very hard to find a solution for. Our youngest dog legs it and runs. Finding a method of training that works for him has been a tall order. We haven't gone down the shock collar route, as I expect that like with pulling on the lead, it probably wouldn't do much for him.

Don't let him off the lead or out of your sight until you have done so.

Train him to know boundaries, where he can and cannot go.

Don't let him off the lead or out of your sight until you have done so.

Anyway, where were you when this happened? He should be supervised in the garden at all times - don't leave a dog unattended, dog theft is rife. He should particularly be supervised if he's a bolter and you have holes in the fence or he can find some other way out.

If you can't train him to do the 2 things above by being the most fascinating thing in his world whom he is desperate to return to and to please and to be a supply of the best treats in the universe then find a trainer who can teach you these things.

And don't let him off the lead or out of your sight until you have done so.

And FFS please don't use a shock collar, as raised by the poster above. They're illegal in Wales but England lags behind on that score; the bloody things exacerbate problems more often than not, can cause associative aggression and are damn cruel.

Can I add too that apart from getting injured or killed (and yes, you MUST take him to the vet, please, they can probably recommend a good trainer whilst you're at it), if your dog gets out and is picked up by a member of the public he will end up in a council pound.

At best you will be charged for his release and per day that he's in there, you'll also get a serious bollocking and possibly be put under a Dog Control Order by the Dog Warden, worse still he might end up either:

In a pound which, when you contact them to ask if they have your dog, doesn't recognise the description/gets it all wrong because there are so many dogs in there/can't be arsed to check, and tells you that there is no such dog there. After 7 days as a picked up stray they are legally entitled to AND THEY DO "put him to sleep". Inverted commas used because as a rescuer I hate that saying, it ain't going to sleep, it's KILLING the dog!

Or taken to a vet by a concerned member if the public who thinks they are doing the right thing and being killed there (illegally, but that;s no help to you or your dog) because they have no room for him/don't want the hassle and expense and can't get the dog warden out quick enough to pick up. Trust me, vets like this exist, I've had run-ins with 2 such recently in my rescue work.

Or picked up by someone who wants to use him as a hunter or bait for fighting dogs or just to keep him.

Or who will claim/demand a "reward", often stating that they bought him from a stranger hundreds of miles away and that they need the hundreds of pounds they "paid" for him plus fuel costs to return him.

Or, if he's unneutered (IS he? That may be relevent), use him as a puppy farm stud.

Jackies are particularly desirable to certain sectors of the community for illegal hunting and he won't stand a chance if he strays and is picked up by a dodgy person... and there are far too many of those about, sadly.